


Like Riding a Bike

by wordwinx



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:50:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2114046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordwinx/pseuds/wordwinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam felt like he had been here before, but there really was nothing to compare to his current situation touring with rock royalty across North America and beyond.  He was finally shining again for new fans on his native soil, but there were actually two places Adam felt most at home.  Only one of them was performing on stage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Riding a Bike

**Author's Note:**

> I have hesitated to publish a "Rubert" or "Adufus" fic because it seemed an improbable pairing in many ways. After seeing photographs of Adam Lambert and Rufus Taylor hanging out together in their free time and interacting playfully onstage, a fictional story about them suddenly had more potential than before. I've created what I feel is a situational friendship turned romance that is in no way intended to be taken seriously. As always, I mean no disrespect to either man in real life. This story is complete fiction for the sole purpose of entertaining fans who find them appealing together. 
> 
> That being said, this particular story is sexy but not very graphic. If you want something more explicit, you may have to look elsewhere this time. I don't see this piece going anywhere, but I will continue to seek inspiration. Who knows?

Adam came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and the crystal encore crown upon his head. Rufus chuckled. “Ah, brilliant, as if your head weren’t big enough already.” Adam discarded his towel with an exaggerated flourish and climbed into bed. Rufus covered him with the sheet and smiled beneath Adam’s warm kiss. “You cheeky bugger, I can’t believe they let you have that.”

Adam looked haughtily down his nose. “I’m only borrowing it.” 

“It’s not the only thing you borrowed from the prop truck.” 

“That fucking couch is a lot heavier than it looks.”

Rufus raised his eyebrow and whispered. “It was worth it.” 

Adam grinned. “You damn right it was.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adam and Rufus had begun messing around about a week after they went on the road for Queen’s North American tour. The camaraderie that began in London two years before still remained, but the flirtations got more and more obvious. Adam was careful. He wasn’t waiting to make a move, but it finally just happened. Rufus started it. He squeezed Adam’s hand as they were leaving the stage, and they went straight to Adam’s dressing room. They didn’t have a lot of time, but Rufus wriggled his way inside that leopard print suit and proceeded to blow Adam’s mind. There was an element of surprise since Adam wasn’t really sure how far this thing was going to go. Rufus eliminated the mystery immediately with self-assured hands and an eager mouth. Not to be outdone, Adam returned the favor aboard the jet once everyone else had fallen asleep. He gambled that Rufus could come quietly and won. All their interactions thereafter were risky, but they managed discretion in that they rarely spoke of it even to each other. Making faces during the performances and exchanging glances when they took a bow were enough to get the message across until they found a few minutes alone as random opportunities arose. 

Adam had tried to dissuade Rufus initially. He told Rufus he was too young. He said band romances spelled disaster. He claimed to be too difficult to manage. He told Rufus he would never commit to anyone at such an uncertain time in his life, but Rufus had a viable rebuttal for every point. He finally silenced Adam on the subject for good when he asked Adam what made him think he wanted a long-lasting relationship anyway. They agreed to keep it casual. Adam trusted his drives but doubted his feelings. Was he interested in Rufus only because he was sexy, likable and so very persistent? Adam knew the rules of the road all too well. The “boys” he met along the way didn’t get it, and Adam was in a perpetual state of apology. In contrast, Rufus didn’t need any explanations. He automatically excused the occasional despondence then spontaneous hilarity over nothing, that incidental bipolarism of the weary. Rufus was there especially at clubs and parties, as an anchor in the best way possible. He didn’t withdraw from the awkward combination of claustrophobia and loneliness that made for an ambivalent silence at last call. They could walk into the night together as equals. What Adam admired initially in Rufus as youthful optimism was actually an experienced confidence that made him unexpectedly worthy to lean on. Rufus knew Adam well because he was living this thing too. No wonder they were drawn to one another.

While Adam, Brian, and Roger were rehearsing, Rufus was often hanging around with the stage crew helping prepare for the show. They were taking a midday break when Adam took Rufus for lunch and maybe some shopping. It was innocent enough until they stole away to the garage where many of the items had yet to be unloaded from the prop trucks. With minimal adjustment, they managed to move the velvet chaise lounge at the back of the trailer. Until that moment, they had been practicing a sort of mutual gratification without consequence or expectation. It was during the escapade to San Francisco that Rufus confided he had figured out long ago he was attracted to boys and girls alike. Thereafter, they went out together but partied with whomever they fancied. They kept it simple for awhile, but all of that changed in the dark, oppressive heat of the garage. The only way they could both fit on the couch was for one of them to lie on top of the other. Rufus eagerly took the bottom, and something inside Adam turned over – a fantasy that became reality. They made out like teenagers in the backseat of a car, touching and holding but not quite going all the way. Adam was a gifted kisser. With only his lips, he could pry Rufus wide – penetrate with his tongue. Just kissing Adam was sex. Face to face . . . eye to eye, it suddenly stopped being a game.

Adam had been invited to this gig, and although everyone had been incredibly welcoming, he still felt like a guest. That feeling extended to his interactions with Rufus. It was his band, his stage, his call. Adam didn’t realize how uncomfortable it made him for Rufus to play the role of host and take the lead. If things were going to get more serious, Adam would have to change all that before it spiraled out of his control. They hadn’t met in private for a couple of days, then one night at the hotel after a show, freshly showered and ready for bed, Adam threw on a tank top and thin sweats to answer a knock at the door. Rufus tried to look casual wiping his palms on his thighs and smiling softly. He managed to say, “Hullo, I . . .” before Adam took his hand and pulled him inside. 

Adam pressed Rufus into the wall and teased his lips with a broad swipe of his tongue. Despite Adam’s lithe physique, he was quite formidable. If Rufus came to his room with the intent of running this show, he was mistaken. Rufus shared his height, but Adam definitely had the advantage when he squared his broad shoulders. “Tell me exactly what you’re doing here and don’t hedge.”

“I know what I want.”

“You have to tell me.”

Rufus let out the breath he was holding. “I want to be with you tonight.” 

“You want to sleep with me.” Rufus nodded. “You have to say it.”

“Yes, I want to sleep with you.”

“Just tonight.”

Rufus looked down. “For as many nights as you’ll have me.”

“I don’t know. Sleeping is a pretty big deal.”

Rufus looked puzzled, and then he grinned. “Sleeping?”

“Yeah. I need a whole lot of sleep.” Adam winked. He enunciated the word as if it were the sluttiest euphemism in the English language.

Rufus continued the ruse. “I see. You’re worried you might steal my cover and leave me cold?”

“It’s more about preferences, I think.”

“I told you, I like sleeping as much as you, and it makes no difference to me if the blanket is pink or blue.”

Adam liked nothing better than a clever lover. “That’s not the preference I meant.” He tapped Rufus’s chin with his finger. “I was just wondering if you sleep on your back, or if you sleep on your stomach.” 

Rufus blushed. “I actually like a good, sound sleep on my side.”

Rufus grabbed Adam at the back of the neck but Adam strained against it. “I think I should warn you first. I’m pretty restless. I toss and turn, probably keep you up all night.”

“Well fuck the bed then. I can sleep just fine standing up.” Encouraged by his tremble of urgency, Adam spun him around and cared not at all if the walls were soundproof.

By any logical definition, it was an affair – impermanent. They avoided talking too much about the future and whether there might be room for Rufus later in Adam’s whirlwind career. They were both practical enough to realize their current interests were almost solely limited to the environment of the tour. When the men were facing a few hours of restful, unstructured time, they often found themselves too exhausted to do anything other than collapse at the hotel. Inevitably, one of them would wake early and pester the other with playful advances until he was too aroused to go back to sleep. There was something about making love in the morning that altered the dynamic of their relationship. A casual drunken one off at midnight was a rock ‘n roll cliché, but making love in the dim light of dawn with mussed hair and puffy eyes was hard to call a fling. 

Rufus mentioned having a couple casual lovers in the past, but being on the road made for short-term situations at best. He never provided much detail, and Adam didn’t pry. Rufus was certainly willing. He made up with audacity what he lacked in experience. Adam didn’t mind taking a more gentle approach. He was a generous lover and got a hell of a lot of pleasure taking his partners to new heights of ecstasy, but there were times when it seemed like it was all new to Rufus. Maybe it just hadn’t ever been quite that good before. He was unable to hide from Adam the wonderment on his face when Adam seemed to know exactly what he needed – the right touch, the right time. Adam had missed being in sync with another person like that, and it bothered him that he had let down his guard. As the first leg of the tour came to a close, Adam and Rufus faced their first separation in weeks. Adam was looking forward to a break, but Rufus who had long relinquished the leadership role in their romance grew more and more contemplative. If ever there were a moment to justify insecurity, this would be the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adam took off the crown and put it on Rufus. 

Rufus tucked his hair behind his ears. “All right then. How do I look?”

“Like a prince.”

“Should I give the royal wave a go?”

“You have to do it like this.” Adam demonstrated the aloof gesture with a noncommittal whimsy about his chin.

Rufus laughed but was distracted by Adam’s arm. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“That.” Rufus pointed.

Adam turned his elbow. “It’s a snake.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Snake tattoos have got to be like, the most popular kind of tattoo ever.”

“I mean what does it mean to you?”

Adam pursed his lips. “I don’t know. There’s an apple too – like Paradise. I guess I sort of respect rebellion and the seeking of knowledge.” Adam made a dorky face mocking himself. “And fuck it, snakes are cool! I don’t think there has to be a deep meaning behind everything, does there?”

“No. I just want to know your story . . . the whole story.”

Adam settled a bit closer. “Well, that would take a lot of ink.”

“And a lot of skin.”

“I have plenty.” Adam nipped softly at Rufus’s neck as his hand roamed over his hip.

Rufus moved in response to the touch and put the crown aside. “Right, so, I think you need a new tattoo.”

“For what?”

“For this.” Rufus indicated the perimeter of their bed, but it could have been the world.

“I got a Q.”

“Well that’s that then.” Rufus turned toward the window.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nuthin. It’s bloody perfect.”

Adam embraced Rufus from behind and gathered him up against his broad chest. Adam pointed to his hand and spoke softly. “See that?”

“OOFTA?”

“Mmmhmmm.”

“It’s stands for something.”

“My grandma might say OY VEY instead, but it’s about the same sentiment. It’s like wow, what-the-fuck, are-you-serious, oh-my-god, that’s amazing . . . OOFTA.”

Rufus traced the letters with his finger. “He was all those things.”

“Yes . . . he was.”

“Do you regret it?”

“No. It means the same whether he’s with me or not.” Adam brought Rufus’s hand to his lips. “I don’t need a tattoo to remind me of him or of anyone. Okay?”

“Okay.” Adam planted more kisses along Rufus’s shoulder and up the nape of his neck. “But if you did decide to get a tattoo for me . . . what would you get?” 

Adam moaned. “You’re impossible.”

“Oh come on, now. What do I make you think of?” Rufus turned fully around and raised his brows indicating he was not going to allow Adam to skirt the issue with more kisses.

“What do you make me think of?” Adam didn’t like to be put on the spot. His impressions of people resisted the confinement of objectification. “I remember our first official date. You bought me a bottle of beer.”

“Beer. . . . I’m a bottle of beer.”

“Not really. I just like to hear you say ‘bottul uff bee-uh’.” Rufus was beginning to lose his mirth. “Okay, okay. Let’s see.” Adam rubbed his scruffy jaw meditatively, “. . . a tambourine?”

This time Rufus shoved him. “Fuck off.”

Adam laughed. “Ow! I’m just fucking with you. Hold on.” He looked over Rufus, examining him for a symbol beyond mere cymbals. 

Finally Adam bit his lip and leaned closer. “I’d get a rose.”

“A rose?” Rufus was disappointed. “Next to snakes, that’s got to be the most common, predictable . . .”

Adam continued. “A tiny, little pink rose . . . the pinkest, most perfect . . .”

Rufus blushed wildly. “Ah! Adam . . .”

“A brand new bud, barely opened.”

Rufus covered his face. “God . . . stop it.”

Adam chuckled wickedly. “So you have to get one of me, too then.”

“Not likely! Where would I put something that big and long and velvety.”

“Ooooo, niiiiice.”

“And purple.”

“Purple!” Adam immediately looked down at his lap. “Oh, honey.”

“The couch! I’d get a tattoo of the couch, you braggart. Honestly, your ego is enormous.”

Adam was already shifting down between Rufus’s legs. “I tamed a Tiger, didn’t I?”

They both froze as the obvious answer fell right out of the air before them. They said at the same time, “Tiger!” Adam bent his elbow again surveying his sleeve up and down. “Where the fuck am I going to put a tiger?”

Rufus made a circle with his finger on the left side of Adam’s chest. “Maybe it could fit right here.”

Adam gave Rufus a look like he had already made himself perfectly clear on the topic. “Rufus . . .” 

“I know.”

“We talked about this. I wish it wasn’t so complicated.” Adam rolled away onto his back, but Rufus put his hand on Adam’s chest.

“Hold on. It isn’t as bad as you think.” Rufus paused. “He knows.”

Adam frowned. “Did you tell him?”

“I didn’t have to.”

“How long has he . . .?”

“Since San Francisco, I think.”

“You think?”

“He’s in no place to judge, and he’d be the first to tell ya. There are things years and years ago that he and Mum never speak of, still.”

“He just figured it out.”

“Yeah, when I told him I wanted to go to Gay Pride with you.”

“What did he say?”

Rufus did such an uncanny imitation of his father’s furrowed brow and gruff voice that Adam couldn’t help but smile. “Welp. You’re a grown man, aren’t ya? Be off with you, then.”

“That’s not exactly a declaration of support.”

“That’s as close as I’m gonna get with Da. I can tell you that.”

“What else did you tell him?”

Rufus looked down. “Nuthin.”

“So your dad knows you want to be in my bed, but he doesn’t know you want to be in my band? Is that what I’m hearing?”

“You said so yourself. It’s complicated.”

“All I’m saying is at some point we have to be open about this. I don’t want Roger to feel blindsided, not Brian either.”

“I have to figure out how to make them understand that I was just mulling around in their shadow until you came into my life and gave me . . .” Rufus stalled for words that could sum up a world he had never considered before, “gave me . . .”

“A stiff upper lip?” Adam attempted a British accent which made his offering all the more salacious. 

Rufus shoved him playfully. “An opportunity.”

“Yeah, either way, I sound like a pimp, so . . .”

Rufus silenced him with a kiss. “Trust me.”

“Okay, but before we leave Asia . . .”

“Before we leave Asia, I promise. Or maybe Australia.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I still don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”

“I believe I heard SOMEONE say there doesn’t have to be a deep meaning behind everything.”

“Well, SOMEONE needs to turn out light so we can get some sleep.

Rufus climbed over Adam’s body and stayed there straddling him. “I thought we might . . . sleep . . . with the lights . . . on.”

Adam whipped the sheet to the side and flipped places with Rufus in one well-practiced move. In a short time, they would have to figure out where they were going. It was swiftly becoming unfamiliar territory, but tonight Adam wanted only what he found most natural in all this world – to get on his bike and ride (so to speak) then tangle his fingers in long blond hair when he came.


End file.
